VFK History of Nuts Quest II
Description Nuts are not just for the squirrels! Since ancient times, people have gathered and stored nuts. They have left behind evidence of their nut gathering in the form of stones designed to crack open hard nuts. These stones have been discovered in a number of places around Europe and the United States showing that nuts have been an important part of people's diet since the beginning of history. On today's quest, we are going to look at some facts as well as some of the tradition surrounding nuts! Your reward for completing this quest will be 1,000 credits, and an Iron Acorn Lamp! Prizes Questions 1. The stones that have been found indicating that people ate nuts were rocks with a hollowed depression. The rocks would be used to pound the nut to open the shell with another rock. The shelled nuts might be eaten raw, or dried and ground into flour. What was the stone called which was used to open the nut shells? *Hammer stone *Opening stone *Flour stone *Nutcracker stone 2. Early Americans gathered English Walnuts that grew in the surrounding forests which had been brought by early colonial settlers. Walnuts were popular with the ancient Romans who introduced them to many European countries. They used them for food, medicine, dye and oil for lamps. Go to the First Outback in Australia and say: "Walnuts were important!" 3. One nut tree that is native to North America is the pecan. Remains of pecans in archaeological digs have been found dating back 8,000 years. Pecans are a distant relative to what other nut, which you can tell by their nut shape? *The Peanut *The Hazlenut *The Walnut *The Pinon nut 4. Macadamia nuts native to the forests of Queensland, Australia are a buttery-tasting popular nut discovered by Europeans in the late 1800's. The nut was named after John MacAdam, the Australian Secretary of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. Australian Aborigines had long collected the nuts every year and would feast on the nuts. Go to the Corner of Balta Street in Victorian Age and say: "It was already a tradition!" 5. One of the oldest cultivated foods is the almond. They have been a cultivated crop for thousands of years. These distinctively teardrop shaped nuts are members of the rose family. They are also close relatives to the plum, cherry and peach. Botanists do not consider the almond a true nut. What are they? *A pome *A seed *A berry *A drupe 6. The hazelnut or filbert is another ancient nut. Growers consider the name filbert to be the correct name for the nut and tree. Filbert is thought to be French and was introduced by early French settlers. However, hazelnut is the more popular name for marketing purposes. Go to the Central Square in Medieval Age and say: "They were a popular food." 7. Cashews, which are native to Brazil, are one of the more unusual nuts in that it grows off a "cashew apple." To prepare cashew nuts for eating, the outer shell and oil are roasted off then the nut is cooked again to remove the inner shell. The apple is an edible fruit which can be made into cashew juice. Cashews are only sold shelled. Why? *The shells smell badly *There is a caustic oil between the inner and outer shell *The shells must be burnt off the nut *The shells disintegrate off the nut 8. The Brazil nut, which is native to South America is an interesting crop. The Brazil nuts are sub-sections of a larger seed pod containing 15-30 nuts arranged inside a seed pod like sections of an orange. One pod can reach a weight of up to 6 pounds. The trees need a special kind of bee to pollinate them. Go to the Command Deck in Space Age and say: "Fire roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things!" 9. Chestnuts have a long history with different peoples. In one area stretching in a belt from Portugal to Turkey, chestnuts comprised almost the entire diet of the people for many months. In parts of Europe and America, chestnut trees grew in the woods and the tradition of "going nutting" or going on a nutting party was a popular activity. How would people collect the nuts? *Shake the nuts down from the trees *Gather them from the ground *Hit the branches with long poles *All of the above 10. Chestnuts perish quickly, after just a few months, so drying chestnuts ensured that they would keep well for use as food. After the chestnuts were dried, they could be ground into flour that would keep for two or three years. Pancakes and bread were made from the flour, however, because chestnut flour doesn't rise, many people refused to call the loaves bread. Go to Audubon's Wild Woods, in Western Age and say: "Let's look for chestnut trees!" Answers 1. Hammer stone 2. Go to the Australian Outback I in Australia and say: "Walnuts were important!" 3. The Walnut 4. Go to the Corner of Balta Street in Victorian Age and say: "It was already a tradition!" 5. A drupe 6. Go to the Central Square in Medieval Age and say: "They were a popular food." 7. There is a caustic oil between the inner and outer shell 8. Go to the Command Deck in Space Age and say: "Fire roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things!" 9. All of the above 10. Go to Audubon's Wild Woods, in Western Age and say: "Let's look for chestnut trees!" Category:Quests